Chrysler Llc

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CHRYSLER LLC - PAGE 3

Detroit: Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management took control of Chrysler Group on Saturday in a $7.4-billion deal designed to set the beleaguered 82-year-old automaker on a path to recovery as a private company. Daimler Chrysler AG of Germany, which also builds Mercedes luxury cars, agreed in May to transfer an 80.1% stake in Chrysler to New York-based Cerberus. Daimler will retain a 19.9% interest in the company. "We as Daimler employees have already made our choice.

WASHINGTON: Chrysler LLC reported on Tuesday a 55 per cent plunge in US sales in January from a year earlier, saying tight credit conditions worsened an already bleak industry situation. The troubled number three US automaker said it sold 62,157 vehicles, less than half the number sold in January 2008 and a 31 percent month-over-month drop. Some of the drop resulted from an 81 percent drop in fleet sales as Chrysler moved away from the segment. Chrysler, which along with General Motors has received an emergency loan from the US government to avert collapse, said some improvement may be on the way. "Chrysler LLC received the first four billion dollar installment of our seven billion dollar bridge loan from the US Treasury in early January," said Jim Press, president and vice chairman.

NEW YORK: American automobile giant General Motors, which was reportedly in preliminary talks for a possible merger with Chrysler LLC, is unable to gather enough funds for buying its rival, said a media report. Quoting people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal stated, "General Motors's hopes of buying longtime rival Chrysler LLC are floundering because the auto maker remains unable to secure financing necessary for the deal. " The report said that in recent days GM, its lenders and Cerberus Capital Management, owner of Chrysler, have been trying to persuade investors that the combined GM-Chrysler entity could deliver cost savings of up to USD 10 billion, a boost in revenue and an increase in available cash.

DETROIT: Chrysler LLC will survive. On Thursday the No. 3 US automaker finds out if it will do so with or without a trip to bankruptcy court. Talks between Chrysler LLC's lenders and the Treasury Department to reduce the automaker's $6.9 billion in secured debt and keep it out of bankruptcy protection broke down early this morning, a person familiar with the talks said. The collapse of the talks means Chrysler will likely have to file for bankruptcy protection to restructure, unless a deal can be salvaged by the government's deadline of 11:59 p.m. Others briefed on the negotiations said that in order for Chrysler to get a deal without bankruptcy, it needs to get 100 per cent of its creditors to sign on. Two of the pieces required by the government to ensure Chrysler's survival are in place.

AUBURN HILLS: Chrysler LLC has denied a published report saying it is in a serious financial crunch. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Chrysler is in financial trouble just four months after Cerberus Capital Management LP acquired an 80.1-percent stake in the automaker. The report was based in part on statements Chief Executive Robert Nardelli made during a meeting with company employees in early December. "Someone asked me, 'Are we bankrupt?"

BRAMPTON: Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC CEO Sergio Marchionne said Friday he wants to pay back this year if he can the loans Chrysler received from the US and Canadian governments. Marchionne said he remains committed to that objective. He made the remarks to reporters while at a Chrysler plant in Brampton, Ontario after meeting with employees to celebrate the production launch of the redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. "I'd like to pay them off in 2011, if I could," he said.

WASHINGTON: US Democratic leaders and the White House reached a deal to provide billions of dollars in relief to the ailing US auto industry, a senior congressional aide said on Friday. The package, which Democratic leaders hope to win passage of next week and send to President George W Bush, totals between $15 bn and $17 bn, the aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The amount is far less than the $34 bn requested this week by General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler, but Democratic leaders believe the money will keep them going until Barack Obama replaces Bush as president on January 20 and a new effort can be made for a rescue plan.

WASHINGTON: US president Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that automakers must meet average US fuel-economy standards of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, four years sooner than previously planned, a senior administration official said. The plan adopts nationwide a standard proposed by California, setting the first-ever US limit on greenhouse-gas pollution from vehicles. Auto companies and California have signed off on the proposal, ending their feud over the state's proposed rules.

NEW YORK: General Motors is looking for a large investment from outside investors as a possible alternative to a deal with Chrysler LLC the media reported. The hoped for capital injection would be similar to recent investments by billionaire investor Warren Buffett in General Electric and Goldman Sachs , the paper said. But the paper cited an unnamed banker as questioning the chances of GM finding an investor to do so. A GM spokesman could not be reached immediately.

DETROIT: Chrysler LLC has resorted to firing 250 salaried workers in order to meet targeted job reductions as it shrinks its struggling US operations, the automaker said on Friday. "There are involuntary separations underway," Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan told media. "It's certainly very difficult. But we have to take these steps to ensure the long term financial health and competitiveness of the company. " The layoffs are part of a cost cutting plan announced in June which involved the elimination of 1,000 white collar positions.